First Sight
by Cherrysinger
Summary: He saw her at her most embarrassing moment and she immediately started crushing on him. And him? He goes everywhere she is just to see her. AU
1. First

Disclaimer: This is the first and only time it's going to appear in this story. Do you really think I'd be writing this if I own CCS? Actually, I'd be sitting back comfortably in my mansion with maids to attend to my every need. Heh. My fantasy.

**First Sight**

By: Cherrysinger

Chapter One

**First**

_**And I believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well,  
Don't you see, I'm the narrator, and this is just the prologue?  
Swear to shake it up, if you swear to listen  
Oh, we're still so young, desperate for attention  
I aim to be your eyes, trophy boys, trophy wives.**_

_-_The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage, Panic at the Disco

-

"Please do it for me, Sakura? I desperately need them...you have no idea how long I've gone without–"

Cough.

"Erm. Yeah. You know what I mean. Sorry. So will you do it?"

Pause.

"Please, Sakura?"

-

_Tell me all that you've thrown away  
Find out games you don't wanna play  
You are the only one that needs to know._

_-_Dirty Little Secret, All-American Rejects

-

I looked around again. There were people staring at me (I grudgingly admitted it could've been my imagination), and it only made me want to disappear even more than I already did.

But if I _ever _got my hands on that little rat ever again...

I could barely finish the thought.

Turning my red face back in front of me, I grabbed a couple of each item, hunching my back to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Then I edged over to the next aisle, wincing as a guy hooted at me. I scowled at him and swiped the last item I needed to get, which made him leer at me more. I ignored him, going to another, empty aisle where I felt like wiping the sweat from my forehead. Finally! This torture was going to end.

I started towards the cashier. I was going out into open grounds soon...therefore, no empty aisles to cower in. How to hide them, how to hide them–

A stroke of pure genius hit me. Grinning, I stuffed them into my purse. I straightened up and walked, gloating to myself, to go and buy them. Granted, I still had to think about what I'd do once I reached there, but for now I had saved myself from feeling like an idiot.

I headed for the least noticeable cashier, swinging my Gucci purse...

"Hold it right there!" an angry voice shouted from behind me. I paused for a moment, but then shook it off.

"_Excuse _me, miss," a hand grabbed me roughly by the shoulder. My eyes widened.

I whipped around to see a middle-aged man with brown hair and annoyed blue eyes staring down at me.

Horrified, I could only stare. He had been talking to me all along?

"May I see your purse for a moment?" he asked, hand out. I numbly handed it over.

He sifted through the contents, mouth pursed into a thin line. Then he fished a few things out.

Oh no. He couldn't think that I–

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to come with me. It appears that you were about to steal these," he held up the monstrosities. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped.

"N-no!_ No. _I wasn't, I was just, just," I sputtered incoherently for a moment, mortified beyond belief. Then I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "No." I repeated firmly, "I can assure you I was not stealing,"

"Why did you put these into your purse then?" he asked, brandishing them into the air once again.

Yes. Thank you Bob. Put it up for the whole world to see why don't you.

"I'm doing a favor for my friend, you can see I was already heading towards the cashier, but unfortunately I'm not used to buying...these things. I was very, very embarrassed so I put them in my purse," I couldn't continue. He didn't seem to understand. "To hide them. Yes. So no one would see and I could just, you know, buy them and be off," I finished in a rush, not caring how strange it sounded.

Finally, understanding dawned on him, although he stared at me doubtfully for a moment. He relinquished his hold on the objects and gave them back to me along with my purse, and I promptly balled as much as I could in my hands. I turned away, my murderous thoughts towards the _rat _doubling.

Only to find everyone in the store staring at me. The hairs at the back of my neck prickled ominously.

If I were imagining it before, I definitely wasn't now.

I felt like melting and becoming one with the floor, and it probably showed on my face. But I quickly pushed myself back up, clenching my fists.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself and marched determinedly forward, throwing the objects defiantly onto the counter and pulling out a bill. I kept my gaze on the black conveyor belt even as I collected my change and took the bag.

It was only when I was exiting the store that I looked up. My face paled.

Of all the things, I thought miserably.

A guy stood there. But he was looking at me–he just saw me at the worst of worst times. A half smile curved his face, hazel eyes smirking in surprised amusement. His dark brown hair was falling, rumpled, over his forehead. Our eyes met for the briefest of moments and understanding flashed between us, something sparking and setting my nerves on fire. But I glanced away and the moment was lost.

The world rushed back to me and I realized I was lingering in the doorway of the store, stupidly watching the man. I quickly turned and hurried out, my face flushed. I hoped to god I would never see him again.

He was still gazing after me.

-

_There's never a right time to say goodbye  
But I gotta make the first move  
'Cause if I don't you gonna start hating me_.

-Say Goodbye, Chris Brown

-

"So, you're telling me..." her mouth trembled. "You're telling me that..."

She started laughing, vainly trying to muffle it with a hand.

"That's very funny isn't it?" I glared at her, successful only in making her laughter grow. "You're the one who made me go buy...buy sex toys and condoms in the first place–just because you haven't 'had any' in a long time!"

She launched into new peals of laughter.

"Sorry! N-not my fault! Sakura, lighten up okay? It's not as bad as...as you think," she choked out.

That was it.

I shoved her ungrateful blond (fake, it was normally dark) head off of my bed.

"I'm having the worst summer thanks to you!"

I was really upset...I was just humiliated earlier in the day and all she could do was laugh? I made for the door, but a hand grabbed my shoulder.

"No! Wait, don't go Sakura. I'm sorry, I'll stop," her voice had calmed somewhat, and even though it still had a breathless, wavering quality, I could tell she was being serious. Reluctantly, I turned around.

"Don't ask me to do that again?"

"I won't," she sighed, and sat on my bed, crossing her legs. "So, a really sexy guy saw you in your most embarrassing moment ever? What did he look like again?"

"Tomoyo!"

"Sakura!" she mimicked, "Seriously! I do feel sorry and all, but I have to know about this,"

I sighed, but I had to agree with her. I tugged on my t-shirt and started.

"He was buying Gatorade and some gum. Sorry, I know that's not important. Anyway he had messy dark brown hair, almost black, which was sort of long and fell over his forehead. And he had hazel eyes, which is completely unfair because since when do Asian people have hazel eyes?" I sighed, kicking my feet. I wasn't so great when it came to the guy's department.

"Sounds like your type," Tomoyo nodded, a slight grin on her face.

"I _know_," I groaned miserably, slumping beside her on the bed and stretching my arms above me.

"You've got it bad," she giggled. I quickly shot up from the bed.

"I do not. I don't even know him. I saw him once for crying out loud!" I exclaimed loudly, but even I knew I was in denial. Over a stupid guy I saw only once. Then I crossed my arms and stared at the carpet, brooding. Tomoyo attempted to tease me again but I wouldn't budge. Finally, with a sigh, she gave up and we sat in silence for a few minutes.

After the silence stretched and became awkward, I couldn't resist sneaking a look at her. Tomoyo's forehead was wrinkled, a sign of deep thinking, and her violet eyes were pensive. Suddenly, she spoke, startling me.

"Listen, I know I've been a bad friend lately, neglecting you because of Eriol and all."

I bit my lip. She wryly held up a hand.

"You don't have to say anything. I know I have. Today just confirmed it for me."

I waited silently for her to make her point.

"Can I make it up to you by going on a trip to the beach?"

I stared at her disbelievingly for a moment. That was the most random thing ever.

Tomoyo laughed sheepishly.

She was serious! I perked up, a smile spreading across my face. Maybe the rat wasn't so bad after all.

"Right now? Honestly?"

"Yup," she answered in a chirpy voice, and all was right in the world again. I checked out the window, and the hot summer sun was up perfectly in the cloudless sky. I laughed, my mood brightening, and hooked an arm through hers,

"Let's go,"

-

_Watch Out! Oh! Watch Out!  
She's saying, Come get me! Come get me._

-Yeah, Usher

-

Half an hour later, Tomoyo was shifting gears in her Corvette, while I hummed to a song absentmindedly beside her.

After a few minutes, Tomoyo slowed and smirked,

"Well, lookie here. Babes at twelve-o-clock,"

I realized with a start that we'd arrived at the beach. I looked out the window. There were a lot of guys walking around in their swimming trunks or surfer suits. Although I preferred not to call them 'babes' since it wasn't something I generally did, I had to admit Tomoyo had a point.

Time to ruin her fun.

"No hooking up. None. You have a boyfriend. Eriol, remember?" I gave her a sly smile and snatched up my bag, opening the door and stepping out as I saw a joking scowl make its way onto her face.

"Fine, I won't. I do like Eriol a lot..." she grinned, stepping out. She adjusted her sunglasses. I gave her an approving nod and said,

"Good. He doesn't deserve to be cheated on." I said solemnly, making sure she knew I was serious. Then I grinned, bounding away from the parking lot. I scanned the beach as I went.

And stopped dead in my tracks.

...The _guy _was there.

Horror. He was talking and laughing with a couple of his friends, clad only in swimming trunks. He had that lean, but fit body...like a soccer player or swimmer would have. His hair was just as messy as before, and it suited him perfectly. Yum. Oh, great. It was not a great time to be thinking thoughts like that. He hadn't seen me yet, good. Panicking, I ran back to Tomoyo, who was still trudging from the parking lot.

I grabbed her arm and dragged her back behind a large van.

"What the h–"

"Tomoyo!" I interrupted her, eyes pleading and a lost note in my voice.

"What is it?" she was immediately on guard.

"He's there." I mumbled.

"Who?"

"You know who,"

"Wha–oh," her eyes sparkled with sudden realization, "Where? I have to see him, he must be something for you to make such a big deal out of him,"

"What am I going to do?" I asked her.

"Calm down, he probably hasn't seen you yet,"

"No, but he will,"

"So? Let him see how pretty and sweet you are."

I paused.

"I'll just pretend I don't know he's there."

Tomoyo groaned.

"Stupid...whatever, if that works for you,"

I ignored her, and instead leaned my forehead on her shoulder, all of a sudden weary.

"Thanks." I grumbled to her.

"Hey, what are friends for?" she said jokingly.

I pushed myself away from her. I purposefully looked away from where the guy was. We chose a spot to spread our towel, which was a comfortable distance from the water. Tomoyo wasted no time in throwing her shirt and jean skirt off, showing off her purple bikini, which looked great on her. I sighed enviously, eyeing my own drab light brown locks, which were a strange color with glints of gold, red and occasionally dark brown streaking through it, visible in the light. It was the hybrid of the blond and the dark brown of my parents' hair. I didn't particularly like it, although I liked how straight and smooth it was. And then there were my eyes. They were a stormy green color. Yes, there was such a thing. Wasn't it supposed to be stormy blue? But no, I got stuck with a cloudy grayish-green color (they used to be a clear, emerald green when I was younger), while Tomoyo had those violet eyes. I hadn't even known violet eyes existed until I met her.

I slowly and consciously peeled away my own blue t-shirt and billowy white skirt, kicking off my flip flops along the way. I had worn a modest dark blue two-piece that had funky diagonal pink stripes, going the opposite way on the bottom half then the top. The bottom had a small pretend-belt that had a small clasp to one side, the kind that were useless other than for show, and the top had the same clasps except bigger to hold each strap up.

I was a bit shy of being in a bikini so I quickly sat down and dug for a book to read. As I was taking out an adventure/fantasy novel I'd been wanting to open for a long time, I felt a familiar prickling at the back of my neck.

Someone was watching me. Nervously I turned around.

Hazel eyes pierced my own. Eyes that I would never forget.

It was him.

Those eyes left mine to trace over me. I felt a shiver go down my spine, an unnamed emotion churning inside of me. He finally saw me. I had dreaded this moment before, but it wasn't as horrible as I thought. Why was he looking at me like that, the dinky girl who embarrassed herself at a store? It baffled me, and I quickly looked away, nervousness coloring my cheeks.

The book lay forgotten in the sand.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pick up his drink and say something to a dark-haired guy beside him, looking almost embarrassed, and then he was heading my way.

I almost didn't believe my eyes, and in shock I turned my head in his direction, only to see a smile appear on his face as he caught me facing him. Shyly, I smiled back, and his widened.

"Who's that Sak?" Tomoyo chose that moment to ask. I turned around, lowering my voice,

"That's him."

"Oh, the guy from the store huh?" she said again. My mouth parted in horror. But the damage was already done. I peeked over my shoulder, only to see the guy stop in his tracks, a shocked look coming over his face.

I couldn't believe how horrible I felt.

Jesus, I _did _have a crush on this guy. It may have been shallow because I hadn't talked to him before, but I didn't think so. We had understood each other when we saw each other at the store.

Tomoyo finally realized what she did. She guiltily looked away from me, fidgeting with the sand. I felt my anger dissipate at this image. I sighed and shook my head.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know," I said. She still looked slightly guilty so I rolled my eyes,

"Chicks before dicks right?" I reassured. A smile appeared on her face at the joke and she nodded, but when she brought her head back up again, that smile quickly turned into a grin. Confused, I stared at her, and she nodded to something behind me. I turned around, only to find that the guy hadn't gone the other way like I thought he would. Instead, he was standing right behind me and looking down at me with an expression I couldn't read.

"Hey," he greeted softly in a deep voice. I blushed and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

"H-hi," I answered. He only grinned in response.

"You're the girl who was at that store earlier today, right? That person thought you were stealing...er..." he stopped uncertainly. I couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"Oh, don't worry you can just call them 'things'. They were for my friend Tomoyo anyway," I said, distracted by the topic and not stuttering for once. I pointed to said person, who was listening silently with an eager grin on her face. She turned a mortified face to me, but I mouthed 'payback' to her.

The guy turned amazed eyes to her, but then something like relief, which I didn't understand, flashed through his eyes as they turned to me.

"Well, 'things' they are then. I just had to say that was the most entertainment I had all summer so far. I hope you don't mind me just coming up here and all, I didn't even think you remembered me, and I felt sort of weird since I didn't even talk to you before," he finished, a hand ruffling his hair.

"Uh..." my face turned red again, "Thanks, I guess. But just to let you know, I, uh, I'm never doing that ever again. Bob was a butt, uh, bum,"

His forehead creased in confusion.

"Bob?" he asked.

"The clerk who stopped me...it said on his name tag," I muttered sheepishly. That expression, pleasant surprise and amusement took over his eyes again.

"Yeah. I'd be pretty embarrassed too. Well, I mean, not that it couldn't have happened to anybody...I mean, you handled it really well," he fumbled and then sighed, frustrated.

I suddenly felt more comfortable at his hesitance.

"Hi, I'm Sakura," I held out a hand. He blinked for a moment, but just when I was starting to feel foolish he shifted his drink to his other hand and took my hand in a firm shake. A warm heat jolted me as we made contact, and I struggled to keep my breathing normal, because I was sure it was one-sided.

"A handshake, huh?" he commented in a neutral way, "Nice name, too. I'm Syaoran. And that's Tomoyo, right?"

I glowed at his comment, and nodded at his question.

"Your name isn't so bad either. It suits you,"

"Thanks."

Tomoyo shook her head as Syaoran offered her a hand.

"Sorry, that's her thing,"

"Okay,"

Abruptly, Tomoyo got up.

"Listen, Sak, I got to go...uh...flirt with some guys okay?" she said suddenly, so much so that it was painfully obvious what she was doing. She flashed me a smirk and took off, leaving me alone with Syaoran.

"Sak?" Syaoran looked at me.

"Nickname. She just calls me that for sometimes," I said, embarrassed.

"I like Sakura better,"

I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult, and it must have showed on my face because he laughed, face brightening beautifully.

"It's a compliment," he confirmed, and then held a hand to me. "Do you maybe want to go get a drink?"

"Sure,"

Was there ever any doubt?

I took his hand and he hauled me up. Once again, something sparked at the touch, and this time he seemed to sense it too. He looked into my eyes and held my hand for longer than he needed before letting go. My heart thudded against my chest. Maybe, just maybe it was mutual.

We continued in silence until we got to the stand. I was about to get lemonade but then, I spotted an ice cream truck.

"Popsicles!" I cried excitedly, unconsciously taking his hand and pulling him over.

It was only when we were standing before the truck that I suddenly realized and I dropped his hand as if it were on fire. I glanced at him sideways, shifting my feet. Syaoran's eyes were bright, but he only gave me a slight playful smirk when he caught me looking. I dragged my eyes back to the ice cream man and asked for a popsicle, and then pulled out my five dollar bill when a hand stopped me. Surprised, I watched as Syaoran handed over his money. I gaped stupidly at him.

"What did you do that for?" I asked in astonishment. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm buying for a pretty a girl," he said, smiling at me after. "And it's not flattery if it's true," he sensed what I was about to say.

He was such a sweet talker.

"What?" he asked.

"I...said that out loud?" I laughed nervously.

"That I'm such a sweet talker?" he grinned, something like sweet satisfaction in his voice.

"Oh," I said in a small voice. But then I straightened, "Hey, it's true,"

Syaoran only shook his head. He slowly handed me my popsicle, our hands brushing.

"You're some girl Sakura," smiling a soft smile.

-

_I was waiting for you to tell me you were ready  
I know what to do, if only you would let me  
As long as you're cool with it, I'll treat you right._

_-_Me & U, Cassie

-

"So?" Tomoyo asked expectantly as we got into her car.

"So what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"So did anything happen with Syaoran!" she burst out incredulously, "I can't have left you on the beach to be bored out of my mind for nothing,"

My shoulders sagged.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Uh, nothing happened..." I trailed off, staring at my lap.

"What!" Tomoyo screeched, the car swerving slightly. I jerked forward and turned wide eyes to her.

"TOMOYO!" I yelled. She cringed.

"Sorry, sorry...but you mean absolutely _nothing _happened?" she scowled at me.

I shrugged.

"Well...he complimented me a lot and gave me these looks all the time, and we got along pretty well, but he didn't ask to see me again or even for my number," I informed her, slightly miserably. My thing for him was one-sided after all. And it would probably always remain that way.

"Then you're too good for him," she said soothingly, "But damn, was he hot."

I almost felt like laughing.

"Shut up,"

"So are you going to go with anyone to the party at Mei Lin's next week? I heard it was going to be a pool party, you know with summer and all here," she asked after a moment of silence. I threw her a withering look.

She muffled her laughter against a hand.

"I guess not. But I could hook you up with somebody, Eriol knows lots of people," she offered.

I considered it. At first I was tempted to say no because the last thing I needed was a date who had taken me as a last resort, but I also didn't want to moon over a complete stranger.

"Okay," I agreed, "But could you find someone who at least likes me as a friend? And that has a good personality?"

Tomoyo gave me a thumbs-up.

"Done."

-

_Think I wanna make that move, now  
Baby, tell me if you like it_.

-Me & U, Cassie

-

The rest of my week flew by like all my other summers.

It was...normal. Usually I wouldn't care but I couldn't stop myself from wondering at times that it didn't really satisfy me anymore. It seemed _boring. _That day at the beach with Syaoran was exciting and new. Traveling the new waters. He was sweet, funny, smart, and deep too, which only made me like him better than before. I didn't tell Tomoyo, but we had talked about our dreams and ambitions, what we wanted to do while we still could. It may have seemed cheesy, but at the time it was perfect. No regular guy would have done that with me.

But I had resigned myself. If this was how it was going to be, then I'd have to live with it. And soon enough, distractions came in the form of Mei Lin's party, and Tomoyo was at my door.

The doorbell was ringing.

I hadn't invited anybody over had I? Glaring at the door when more impatient ringing came, I jogged down the stairs in my sweats and yanked it open.

"What do you want?" I said irately before I could see who it was.

"Is this how you treat all your guests and saviors?" Tomoyo asked. What was she doing here?

"What the hell are you doing here?" I decided to speak my mind. Tomoyo tsk-ed and stepped inside, leaving me still holding the door open and scowling at her.

"Not in a good mood I take it. And what are you wearing? Mei Lin's party is today!" she surveyed my sweat pants and loose Beatles shirt. I closed the door and followed her confusedly to my room.

"But isn't that two hours away? I can just put on some clothes before I go, it's just a party,"

"No," Tomoyo groaned, "You're going to a party with a _date. _There's a difference, and anyway you never get dressed up. It's about time you start. I brought some clothes for both of us,"

I was gaping once again. I didn't even know she had gotten me a date, let alone that I was supposed to get dressed up!

"Who's this date of mine?" I asked suspiciously.

"You'll see,"

I wanted to throttle her. She laughed and then held out some eyeliner, beckoning me.

Forty minutes later, I sat on the bed, dazed.

"Are you done yet?" I asked. She nodded, satisfied, and pushed me in front of a mirror. My eyes almost popped out. I didn't look like the slut I thought I would, and instead I looked...nice.

I had on a dark pink tank top with a thin white crop sweater over it, done together with a small pink button. It was partially see through and very delicate, and the sleeves were short and fluttery. The skirt was one that Tomoyo had found at the back of my closet, white and ending two inches above my knees. At the top of it, a pink sash tied a small bow at the side. She gave me pink ballet flats to wear. For makeup she only put on mascara, green eyeliner (made my eyes look less cloudy) and some peach lip gloss, but it went a long way when it was combined with how my hair was in loose, flowing waves she somehow did with her curling iron.

Beaming at me, she hurriedly did herself, me giving her advice since I was hopeless at doing anything myself. In the end she settled for a short pleated black skirt (much shorter than mine) and an electric blue sleeveless top that belonged to me. She had a pair of strappy blue heels.

Suddenly, just a few minutes after Tomoyo had finished doing herself, the doorbell rang through the house and butterflies appeared in my stomach. Tomoyo smiled at me slyly and moved to go get it, but I grabbed her arm.

"Let my mom get it," I said, nervous. She rolled her eyes at me and yanked her arm out of my grasp, clunking down the stairs. I very slowly followed after her, only to see her opening the door and ushering the two in. I steeled myself.

"Hi," I greeted hesitantly, waving slightly. The two guys, one of which I could recognize as Eriol for the unusual blue hair, turned around. I knew that face...

"Luke!" I said incredulously, and then squinted to make sure I wasn't mistaken.

"Yeah," he grinned. That settled it. Out of all the things that changed about him, his smile remained the same, along with his light green eyes. The rest of him looked slightly different...he was taller, his hair was a dark brown instead of the dusty color she remembered, and he looked older, his jaw line more defined.

I shrieked and then jumped on him and hugging him, almost barreling him over. I asked questions in a hurried frenzy, confused but happy beyond belief.

"What? Luke how did you get here! I thought you moved to British Columbia...that's really far from here! So, how did you–what are you doing here?" I stopped when he put a hand to my arm, chuckling a bit. All of a sudden I felt awkward, and I disentangled myself. It wasn't like me to go leaping on people, and the years of not seeing him all of a sudden caught up to me. It was strange seeing him so handsome, so _different _that I felt overwhelmed and small compared to him. I avoided his eyes.

He sighed.

"I came over to visit my cousins, but I got in touch with Eriol, and Tomoyo's his girlfriend, right? So she said you needed a date, and I thought we could go as friends. How many years ago did I leave anyway?" he asked quietly, a subdued tone in his voice.

"Tomoyo never told me." I shook my head. "And you...well, you left right before our first year in high school. And now it's the summer before our senior year," I finished, slightly wistfully. I had thought I'd be spending my senior year with him.

Sadness passed over his face momentarily, but then he straightened and composed himself, looking at me with an appraising eye.

"You look different,"

"In a good way?" I lightly teased.

"Hm," he nodded.

"You too," I hesitated, but then hooked my arm around his and dragged him outside to where Tomoyo and Eriol were waiting, calling a goodbye out to my mom.

Tomoyo let me drive her Corvette since she was going with Pete, but I quickly surrendered the keys to Luke, who had been eyeing the car greedily. Another thing that hadn't changed about him.

We drove to Mei Lin's silently, because we didn't know what to say to each other. We had years to catch up on, but I decided to save it for tomorrow. Today I would treat him as a friend I saw everyday, but it was still weird beyond anything.

And, soon enough I found my thoughts wandering off into a different, more dangerous direction, wondering for a fleeting moment if Syaoran would be at the party. But I quickly squelched it and looked more firmly out the window.

We quickly got to Mei Lin's party and parked the car on the side of the road, Luke taking me gently by the arm and leading me inside, away from the gathering around the pool although nobody was swimming. Tomoyo and Eriol had already disappeared to who knew where.

Inside was even more crowded than outside, but people were actually dancing rather than milling around. R&B music was playing I looked imploringly at Luke.

"Yes, we'll dance," he rolled his eyes. I smacked him, but felt some of my tension melting away with the excited, adrenaline-rush feeling in the air. I took his hands and started moving, dancing playfully around him and making him turn in a circle where he was.

Heh. Who was the best dancer?

But he quickly showed me, and he'd even learned some new tricks. Amazed, I tried copying him, only to fail miserably.

"I'm still better than you!" I stuck my tongue out at him, only half annoyed. I twirled around, almost losing my balance and crashing into him, but he caught me.

"Still as clumsy as ever, eh Kinomoto?"

I laughed, that rush flowing through me. I was so caught up that I didn't notice Luke slowing and stopping, looking behind my shoulder.

"Can I interrupt?" a vaguely familiar male voice said politely, but there was an edge it that suggested he was holding back a scowl.

I turned around, ready to tell whoever it was off that I hadn't seen Luke in three years and now some stranger wanted to dance with me? But I stopped. Because staring back at me, the slightest glint of displeasure swimming in his eyes, was Syaoran. Definitely not a stranger. Shock chilled me and all I could do was stare back, my eyes frozen on his face.

In the corner of my eye I dimly registered Luke moving back, looking back and forth between Syaoran and me, but I didn't move. I was still staring at those hazel eyes, locked in a silent battle.

"I'll be in the backyard by the pool," he mumbled, and then he was gone. Right after he left, everything suddenly rushed back to me–Syaoran looking at me with that expression in his eyes, the people pushing around me, him at the party. I tore my gaze away from his, stepping back, recalling why I was mad at him in the first place. I forced myself to glare at him angrily and snap,

"What do you want?"

He looked taken aback, the smile that had appeared on his face rapidly fading. I shook my head and turned around, but a hand grabbed my wrist. I tried shaking free, but his grip was too firm and I resented the way that my body still reacted to him. Turning around, I caught an almost hurt look on his face.

"Sakura..." he trailed off, dropping my wrist.

"Oh, yeah. It's you," I pretended to only just remember who he was, "At the store and the beach. Right." He flinched. "Now, you just scared off my _date _who I haven't seen in three years. I have some catching up to do," my voice had betrayed me and cracked for a second, but he had heard. His eyes looked resentful for a moment.

"Can't we just talk?" he asked imploringly, taking my hand. I wrenched it away, shaking my head.

"Sakura," he said again, but this time frustrated, "I know you remember me, don't deny it. What did I do?"

"I..." my voice faltered. All of a sudden I couldn't face him anymore. "Nothing, you didn't do anything." _Liar._ "We don't even know each other, we've only talked once," I forced every word out, but hating how there was some semblance of truth in it. I turned around, not daring to look at his face after I had said that, and wove quickly through the crowd, away from him, ignoring him when he called after me. There was a burning in my chest, but I ignored that too, reminding myself that he was a jerk who wasn't worth my time. I couldn't let him continue to lead me on like he was.

But god, I wanted him to.

I found a couch to sit on and sighed, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. I was going to go find Luke in a moment, but I needed a break first.

But the couch sunk beside me not a minute later and I opened my eyes in confusion.

The sight that met me had my face whipping the other way in embarrassment and disgust. I got up and made my way through the open glass doors, moving past the porch onto the green lawn. Luke was leaning back against a lawn chair and sipping an alcoholic-looking drink, feet propped up. I marched towards him and narrowed my eyes at the beverage,

"What is this?" I growled. "I am _not _driving for the both of us and having to take care of you when you throw up too...and you're drinking underage."

He seemed surprised at my sudden appearance, but he chose not to comment.

"It's just a corkscrew, don't worry. I won't get drunk off of one glass of it, and you should know by now that parties like this don't exactly follow that rule," he smirked.

Huh. He better have meant it.

"Uh, sorry about back there. That was just some jerk, I was surprised to see him is all. I came to find you as soon as I got rid of him," I fiddled with my hair. Luke didn't press the topic.

"So, how's life?" he asked instead, setting his drink down. I contemplated the different meanings of this, and felt embarrassment take its mark on me again.

"Screwed," I shrugged, "You, coming here all of a sudden. It's so weird seeing you after three years. You never came to visit before."

"Sorry about that by the way," he said softly. I smiled quickly at him.

"I know it's because you couldn't afford it, or any long-distance calls but, you're...you're so different but at the same time, not," I avoided his gaze again, leaning back on my heels.

"Don't you think it's the same for me?" he smiled wryly.

I almost laughed at the irony.

"I guess it's time to get caught up huh? I was going to save this until tomorrow but I need to tell you...everything," I turned serious.

"Is it about the guy you were with?" he asked hesitantly, reading my face.

"Yeah." I nodded. Luke held out his arms and I sank into them gratefully, and that was all it took for me to pour everything out. He listened silently as I told him. He was a great listener, and I remembered that this was part of why he had been my best guy buddy. At the end of it all I felt a rumbling in his chest. Confused, I glanced up.

"Are you laughing!" I yelled incredulously.

First Tomoyo, and now him. What went wrong in my judgement of people?

He forced himself to stop, but a few chuckles still escaped him.

"S-sorry Sakura...it's just that you've only properly talked to this guy once and you sound like you're crazy about him, and the first time you saw him was when you were buying sex toys for Tomoyo. And now you're insanely mad at him, practically bit the poor guy's head off, just because he didn't ask for your number or anything, and you don't want him to lead you on anymore," his mouth still had a suspicious quiver to it. I glared at him, but then I realized how stupid it _did _sound when he put it like that.

"Whenever something happens to me, why does it always have to happen the weird way?" I tipped my head to the cloudless sky, as if asking the gods.

"Who knows, Sakura, who knows," he laughed, and his chest rumbled again. I realized I was sitting in his lap and I moved off, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm. "Hey, this is just like when we were seven, remember? Come on, stay. You're like the little sister I never had," he patted my head, which made me grumble, but I relented anyway. I laid my head on his shoulder, relaxing, until I felt him tense. Again. It was just like when we were dancing.

Closing my eyes and hoping it wasn't who I thought it was, I waited.

"What do you want?" came Luke's voice.

"Can I talk to Sakura for a moment?" Syaoran. Grimacing, I buried my face deeper.

"Didn't you already talk to her before?" Luke said cooly.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to her properly,"

"I don't think she wants to talk to you right now,"

"Please, just for a moment," Syaoran sighed, sounding tired.

"Sorry, but no can do man,"

"Who are you anyway? Her boyfriend?" he finally snapped, losing his temper. I heard him take a deep breath and then sigh, "Look, I'm really sorry but I need to straighten things out. I didn't even know she had a...boyfriend,"

"Hm," Luke didn't bother denying it. I knew I was being a coward hiding behind him, and I hadn't particularly cared before, but Syaoran deserved to know how I felt about him. Lifting my head, I pushed off of Luke.

"Luke, it's ok. I'll go,"

He gave me a 'what are you doing' look but I pointedly walked off, gesturing for Syaoran to follow me. I went around the side of the house, which was impressive in its property, and went behind and underneath a willow tree so no one would see us. Syaoran had been silent this whole time but once I had stilled and the tree was behind us he approached me and wrapped his hands around my waist, pulling me to him gently.

My mouth gaped. Again. What was with this guy and surprising me?

"What are you doing?" I gasped, pushing on his chest. He didn't budge. I looked up, my hands stopping and drifting slowly down to my sides as I saw an unexpected emotion there. Anguish.

"Sakura, I know I don't know you that well, but I thought we had something,"

Surprised, I could only watch him.

"You led me on and now it's like you want nothing to do with me. You had a boyfriend and you didn't tell me...I really didn't think you were that type of person," he murmured, sadness clouding his eyes and a brown lock falling down over them.

Leading him on? _I _was leading him on? Was this some kind of joke!

"What are you talking about!" I exploded, thoughts of peaceful discussion thrown out the window, "_Me _leading you on? I think it's the other way around!" I finished, anger and hurt filling me.

"But–you–I thought–you have a boyfriend," he sputtered, then seized my shoulders, "What's going on, Sakura?"

I was breathing heavily, then closed my eyes, trying to sort my thoughts.

"That, was not my boyfriend. That was Luke. I haven't seen him in three years until today," I said, my eyes still shut.

I felt the tension in his shoulders loosen slightly.

"Then why the hell did he say he was your boyfriend?" He tightened his arms around my waist almost possessively.

"To protect me," I grit out.

"From what? Me?" Bewilderment. Confusion. Anger. "Listen, I have no idea what I did to make you mad at me. We definitely haven't even talked long enough to already be fighting. God, I don't know what you want from me,"

I twisted away from him angrily, shaking, but he gripped my chin and tipped it up. Light fingers plucked at my eyelids.

"Look at me, Sakura,"

I stubbornly shook my head, but he repeated, firmer and commanding.

"Look. At. Me."

My eyes flew open.

"Happy?" I all but snarled.

"Tell me what's going on," his eyes pierced mine, and his grip almost crushed my shoulders.

"Not if you think this is all a game," my eyes burned.

"You–" Comprehension dawned in his eyes. "You...you thought I was just playing you," he stated flatly. I drew in a breath and nodded, looking unseeingly at the ground. "Then tell me, what is this," he said, so softly and carefully that he could've disappeared. Then he pulled me to him roughly and his mouth slammed onto mine. I inhaled sharply, my hand clenching on his shirt and trying to push him away. He only slid his hands down to my back, and I suddenly found myself against the rough bark of the tree, his mouth furious above mine. And my mind was lost.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, fingers pulling at his hair. Heat–hot and strange and dangerous and wonderful, seared through me, and I only wanted more. He nibbled my lower lip and my mouth parted, and I couldn't stop a moan when his tongue entered my mouth. He smiled darkly against my lips. Tentatively, I kissed him back. God, I wanted him. I liked him so, so much.

Instinctively, my mouth closed on his tongue. He stilled. My eyes opened in worry, but all I caught was his expression of pure ecstasy right before his mouth came down to devour mine again.

Was I mad before? I thought hazily.

But Syaoran chose that moment to pull away from me, our mouths making a small parting noise. We were both panting, and when Syaoran opened his eyes they were dreamy and dilated, only a thick ring of hazel showing

"Wow..." I whispered without realizing it. That was the best kiss I had ever gotten, and it wasn't like I had a lot of experience anyway. A semblance of male pride flashed in Syaoran's eyes and he brought his thumb up to stroke my cheek.

"You're so beautiful," his breath puffed against my lips, but he pulled back after a moment, studying me intently.

"You...really mean it?" I mumbled quietly, scrutinizing him.

"Yes, I mean it about everything...that wasn't just 'nothing', Sakura," he replied softly.

"No, it wasn't," I agreed, "You honestly aren't playing me," I stated, wonderingly.

"Sakura," he sighed, reaching up and frustratingly ripping a hanging tendril of the willow tree off. "What have I been trying to tell you this _entire_ time? You've been treating me badly because you thought that I didn't care about you, but you just jumped to a conclusion. I thought you were playing with _me _because you did,"

Well, when he put it that way, I did sound incredibly foolish, even I admitted that to myself. What a mess.

"Sorry," I apologized, then asked hesitantly, "But what was I supposed to think when you didn't ask to see me again or anything that day at the beach Syaoran?" I was laying myself out here, I just hoped that he wouldn't hurt me.

Understanding rippled over Syaoran.

"It was all about that?" he questioned, then a disbelieving look stole over his face. "I'm so stupid," he grumbled.

"You can't have been more stupid than me," I reassured.

"I was, believe me," he said dryly, "This is all my fault...but then again I wouldn't have gotten that amazing kiss if I hadn't done what I did," he grinned at me roguishly, making my cheeks heat up, "You mentioned going to Mei Lin's party right? Well it just so happens that Mei Lin's my second cousin, or third, can't remember, but anyway I thought I'd be here and I'd surprise you. So I didn't ask to see you again."

"You were going to do that for me?" I gaped at him. Queer guy...

He dropped a kiss on my nose.

"Sure..." he smiled at me. "Actually, I went to the beach hoping you would be there, since everyone goes,"

I was speechless. No words other than he was crazy. I wasn't that special.

"Yeah, I'm a stalker," he rolled his eyes, "But you were there so it doesn't matter. By the way, I love that bikini,"

"You're so pathetic," I teased. A tint of red dusted his cheeks. He was blushing.

"This is the first time I've done that," he muttered, his ego bruised. Then he adopted a serious expression, "Listen, if you were just anyone else, I wouldn't give a flying shit if you were mad at me because I did something, since I don't know you that much. But the thing is, when I saw you at that store, I was thinking, that girl's different, she's got guts. And I don't know...it was strange. It's never happened to me before."

Something was welling up inside of me, and it was making me feel so elated that I could barely think. I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up right now.

"Me too...I thought I was crazy and it was just me," I admitted sheepishly. Like, or love at first sight...

"Unless we're both crazy," he smiled ruefully, then he stared at me intensely, "I want to get to know you, Sakura, and I don't even know your favorite color yet,"

"Pink," I informed him, then tilted my head thoughtfully. "You're right. I don't know you that much either. All I know is that you weren't this, er, aggressive and forward before. You were more sweet-talking and...well, you're still a sweet-talker but it's different. I want to get to know you too,"

He leaned forward, and our lips were only a hair away from each other. I could get used to this.

"Friday at seven," he breathed. I grabbed the back of his head and brought him forward, pressing my mouth against his.

Did he really need an answer?

-

_Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster, faster  
So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,  
Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?_

-Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off, Panic at the Disco

-

**A/N:** This is the edited version. Syaoran with hazel eyes? Awesome. I was thinking about it the other day. Don't believe in love at first sight, but my best friend does, so defiantly I made a story all about it. That's just like me -groan-. Check out the next chapter please! XD

PLEASE R&R! No flames, constructive criticism okay.


	2. Interlude

**VERY IMPORTANT NOTE**

_Alright, you better not be skipping this or else I will throttle you. I don't know how, but I will_. XD

ANYWAY, I've come to realize that there was a large amount of confusion about this story...most people seemed to think it was a continuing story. Well, I'm sorry to crush your hopes but...this was a one-shot. But don't fear! I couldn't help but be interested in your comments, and it made me wonder if I could continue this! Since I can't really think of how this story could continue, yet most of you expected it to...so I'll do a vote.

Would you like this story to continue?

AND GIVE ME IDEAS DAMMIT! I HAVE NONE!

So, anyway, to put it more politely, it'd be appreciated if you gave me ideas so that I could create a reasonable (I hope) plot based on them...and I don't care if it's cliche or whatever, but if they're extremely gag cheesy- spare me, please. Er, one more thing I'd like to say (heheh this is just for my own benefit), is that it sucks that my story was posted up a day or two before something went wrong with the site and nobody couldn't review...because I definitely know some of you added me to your fav's without reviewing! And some just didn't bother reviewing even though they had the chance...but please, please pretty please could you review? If you like this story so much I like to think that you'd have something to say to me.

Nope, not accusing you of doing anything wrong just in case you're asking, and if I come across as really serious and blah in this author's note, blame it on my splitting headache I just can't seem to get rid of.

PLEASE review! Be considerate, I always review to stories I read! I'd appreciate if everyone did the same to me...

Flames ignored. XD


	3. Unspoken Understanding

A/N: **This is NOT a rich school/middle class school division problem no matter HOW much it hints at that in this chapter.**

**-**

_August 5, 2006_

Chapter Two

**Unspoken Understanding**

_With just a look they shook  
And heavens bowed before him.  
Simply a look can break your heart._

-Miss Murder, AFI

-

I stared at myself in apprehension, wondering if this was actually me. The face that looked back at me was vibrant and alive–cheeks flushed and a glow surrounding them. But, there was no denying those cloudy green eyes. It was me.

Smiling to myself, I turned away from the mirror and brushed a lock of hair back, taking a deep breath.

"You look like a babe!" a shout interrupted me, and Tomoyo beamed from behind me.

"And I have you to thank for it," I answered knowingly; that was what she expected. But she _had _done a good job in the gold metallic halter I was wearing, and the black pants combined with strappy heels.

"You know it," she quipped. Then her face turned sulky, "How did you get from having no love life to having an amazingone?"

"Well, you know, it's in my wonderful personality and stunning looks," I said, trying to flip my hair in a haughty way. Key word: trying. Tomoyo rolled her eyes and scoffed at this.

"Speaking of which, I still don't really know how he got interested in you in the first place, and then you hooked up at Mei Lin's party all of a sudden. But, all that matters is that now you have this hunk of a guy, who's taking you out to an expensive restaurant!" she brightened considerably, "Remind me to make Eriol do that,"

"Oh man," I grumbled, having no doubt she would do just that. "Well then let me tell him you****said that and then see what he sa–"

_Ding, dong._

I froze.

"No, I'm not answering the door for you, not anymore. Suck it up," Tomoyo rolled her eyes, grabbing my arm and dragging me downstairs. I was still in a state of numbness when I saw my dad almost to the door.

"I hope he's worth it Sakura. And invite him to dinner sometime," He said without looking up from his newspaper, walking off. I flushed. But, there were other more important matters to get to. Swallowing, I slowly opened the door.

The world melted away around me.

I drank in the sight of Syaoran standing on my porch. He was holding a pink rose in his hand, and was dressed in khaki pants and a black dress shirt, unbuttoned a little at the top. Trying to force my voice into some semblance of normalcy, I greeted, grinning nervously,

"Hi."

Syaoran smiled slightly at me.

"You look beautiful," He offered the rose. I took it, and with surprise I realized that the thorns had been carefully stripped off. I set it gently into the vase on the table beside the door, which already had an assortment of yellow flowers in it.

"Thanks." He looked good too. "You look beautiful too," Syaoran blinked at me in surprise, before humor invaded his eyes.

"I-I mean, you look really hot! Wait, you look dashing. Er, no, I mean," I stopped and wanted to thrash myself. Grudgingly I muttered, "You can stop now,"

"Sakura, did you just call your date 'beautiful'?" Tomoyo exclaimed from behind me, and with a start I realized that she was there all along. "Sakura, you don't do that," she said in an aghast tone.

My face and neck red, and mood completely shattered, I glared, humiliated, as Syaoran laughed even harder, and then turned that glare to Tomoyo. She shrunk away, and then muttered,

"I guess you better be going now," and proceeded to push me out next to a Syaoran who was now trying vainly to muffle his laughter, then shutting the door in my face. Scowling at the door momentarily, I crossed my arms and turned to Syaoran. Then I gave him a good whack on the head.

"Stop it!"

Surprisingly, he stopped, then gazed at me wide-eyed.

"Did you just hit me? On the head?" he asked in an astonished tone, and then deciding for himself that I had, he launched into another fit of laughter. I sighed and stared at the sky moodily, deciding to wait it out.

Eventually he did stop, and grinned at me as if sharing a private joke. When he caught sight of my expression though, it faded. He tentatively tried speaking, but quickly stopped when I ignored him. Reaching over, he wrapped an arm around me and when I didn't move, he blew gently in my ear. I shivered and he hugged me closer.

"I'm sorry, don't take it in a bad way. I haven't laughed like that in, well, I long time," his voice lowered, "Since I was a kid, actually. It's great you can do that,"

I tried to remain rigid, but already my anger was melting. I sighed and then nodded, turning to look at Syaoran.

"Well, at least I know a flaw of yours now," I muttered.

His face broke into a slow smile.

"Yeah, and I know one of yours too. I can help you get rid of your...slips of the tongue," he teased.

"Be quiet," I added with a grumble for good measure, pettily wanting to get a last shred of guilt out of him, and in the meantime ignore the way his smile made my toes curl. But he merely stared at me and suddenly, mischievously, stepped away.

"As you wish," I only saw a flash of his eyes before he bowed, holding out a hand. Speechless and anger completely abandoned, it took me a few seconds to get my bearings, and when I did he was still there with a smirk. I took his hand.

"Of course. Lead the way,"

He grinned broadly and drew me down the steps.

"I knew there was something great about you,"

"Stop it. I'm supposed to keep you in line, remember?" then suddenly I looked around in confusion. "Where's the car?"

"We're going to walk," he replied with a straight face.

"What?" my eyes flew to him. "But it's far away isn't it? And I can't walk with these," I gestured to my heels.

"You can, trust me," and he started pulling me along, all the way down the driveway and then along the sidewalk. I stumbled.

"W-wait! You can't just go and not tell me stuff...relationships are supposed to be two ways!" I protested in what was a feeble defense. If anything, it made his smile widen.

"Yes it is, but I thought we could use this time to talk,"

I thought for a moment.

"What's your favorite color then?"

"Green," he answered. Startled, I stared at him. He stared back at me for a moment until he finally realized, and a faint blush rose to his cheeks. "No, I didn't say that because your eyes are green..."

I looked away sheepishly.

"Anyway," I coughed, "Where do you go to school? I know I haven't seen you around in Tomoeda High,"

He hesitated, and something strange went through his eyes for a moment, but it passed and he shrugged.

"I don't go there, I go to Westfield,"

"Westfield...?" I echoed in surprise. I watched the ground pass by for a moment in shock. Still, "You go there?" I repeated, fainter. No matter how much I told myself though, a feeling was forming inside me...my stomach felt like it was sinking.

"Hey," a joking voice interrupted me, and a large, lean hand took mine. I looked up to see his hazel eyes studying me, "For what it's worth, I don't really care,"

I smiled hesitantly. He went to the upper crust private school, and I was just in the middle-class public school. Everyone knew the two didn't usually mix–I had to wonder.

"You mean it?" then I shook myself when I heard my hesitant voice, "I mean, it doesn't really matter to me if you _do _care, but, if you're lying I'm going to have to throw you on the side of the road." I stopped myself.

"I'm here with you," he said firmly, and I looked up to hazel eyes, "It _doesn't _matter, because you're just like everyone else and money's just..." a flicker of uncertainty entered his gaze.

I held his hand tighter.

I waited for him to continue, but when I looked up after several moments of silence his eyes were distant and far away. He wasn't going to tell me. What was he going to say? Money was just what? He saw me when I was talking, he knew that I didn't feel good enough for him. He wanted to reassure me, that I was just like him and everyone else...

That _he _was just like _me _and everyone else. A flash of understanding jolted through me.

I hoped I was right.

"I don't know about you, but money's just, uh, stuff isn't it?" I laughed sheepishly. "It can give you a comfortable life but it can't give you anything else. I heard someone say before that things like money are a necessity to live, but it isn't what we live _for, _you know? And, I don't really know, but I wouldn't want people to just like me for my money. It would make me feel different, and separated," and even though everything in me protested, I held his gaze steadily with my own. We stayed like that for a few seconds, and so many things were strewn around in his eyes that I didn't even know where to start. Abruptly, he looked away from me and let go of my hand, shoving them deep into his pockets.

I shrugged it off. He needed space to think about it. We walked in silence for a while, and after a few minutes he glanced sideways at me. I smiled up at him. He looked away again, as if pained, and I wrinkled my forehead in confusion. But then he started to speed his pace up, his strides becoming longer, and soon I was struggling to catch him.

"S-Syaoran! Wait! I can't keep up with you," I panted, grabbing his sleeve. He stilled, but gave no indication that he heard me. With a start I realized that his fists were clenched, and his eyes flashed with...amber?

I dropped his sleeve in shock.

"Syaoran?" I asked. His knuckles became even whiter and despite myself I reached a hand out to them, but he jammed his hands into his pockets before I could. Then his voice came out, soft and different. Cold.

"You wouldn't understand. Sorry."

Confused, I could only peer up at him. What was wrong with him? But he started walking again, continuing at his previous pace, long even strides steady. His eyes were unreadable, and amber. My throat felt dry. My feet remained rooted to the sidewalk. This was the first time I had encountered him like this, and he was just walking away.

I pitifully wondered what I did wrong, when out of nowhere anger rose inside of me, hot and simmering. It was fueled by the hurt I felt, but it felt safer than what I was feeling before. Blinking away the burning in my eyes, I forced myself to straighten. I could still see Syaoran on the sidewalk, walking stiffly into the distance, and I shakily raced after him.

When I finally reached him, I grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him around to face me. I didn't say anything for a moment. But when he started turning around again, anger flooded back to me and suddenly I knew exactly what to say.

"What are you doing?" he looked at me with those horrible emotionless amber eyes. "You're the one who said it didn't matter I went to Tomoeda and you went to Westfield...but it does, doesn't it? I was just trying to see what you felt like and tell you I didn't care either, but then you go off and act like a jerk. You have more drastic mood swings than a girl! I thought this was supposed to be our first date but you don't even explain to me why you're upset? If you at least did that, I would've accepted it and never done whatever I did again." Nauseated, she shoved him back, "God, I really don't know you, do I," I ignored the slight twinge guilt and longing at the emotion finally appearing in his eyes. I turned around and stalked off, not caring that I didn't know where I was going or that my feet were throbbing from my jog. All I cared about was getting away from him.

"Sakura!"

I ignored him. Confronting him had given me a new liberty somehow.

Stubbornly, I walked faster. Rapid footsteps thudded behind me and he was running. If I went any faster my ankle would crumple and I'd be like the girls in the novels. It wasn't going to happen. Leaning down I shoved out of my heels and took off running, cradling them in my arms.

I ducked into a small side street and called hoarsely behind me,

"Go home!" But when he rounded the corner I realized my foolishness. I just wanted to go to _my _home and forget all about him, curl up on my bed and hug my stuffed animals, drowning my sorrows away with Hershey chocolate. Was that too much to ask? I hissed under my breath and flew into what I thought was a small, discreet street. Narrow brick walls closed in on me and the smell of putrid garbage wafted into my nose. It was an alley.

Not giving myself time to think about it, I headed to the back and dove into some empty cardboard boxes where I huddled, trying to calm my ragged breathing.

"Sakura?" an uncertain voice carried. I didn't dare move. "Can you come out?"

I bit my lip.

"I know I was an idiot," he paused. "I know you're here too,"

You got that right, both of them.

"It's just that nobody's ever told me any of that before, except for my best friend and my cousin, and even they didn't put it like that. I was really surprised. Actually, that's an understatement. I didn't know what to do, and," he took a deep breath, "That's how I react to...things like that. That's how I was–I mean, how I grew up."

I received the piece of information with some surprise. I would hate to see what his other dysfunctional family members were like. Unwillingly, slight sympathy crept in. But I knew there were still things he wasn't telling me, and that only made resentment take its place again.

Silence.

I sighed, moving to get up, when his footsteps came closer and his voice echoed again, loud and frustrated.

"Sakura, I mean it. Just give me a chance." He almost growled. "I make a lot of mistakes, I know that. But I think you knew that too when you got into this with me, so–dammit, you have to help me,"

My breath caught.

Sighing at my weak self and knowing he heard, I knocked over the boxes and stood up, stretching the painful cramps in my legs.

And then hands were on my arms, anxious hazel eyes peering at me. The amber was gone.

"Sakura," he didn't say anything else, only tried reading my eyes. Confused, I wondered why he wasn't making a move, but I noticed he was almost...hovering. My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to ask, but he chose that moment to pull me in a loose hug. I shut my mouth and stayed stiff, and he hastily pulled back, glints of amber pain appearing.

"Oh..." I breathed.

Suddenly, I didn't care that he hadn't told me everything. That was his choice. And I knew that I couldn't shout at him like I planned to when I stepped out of those boxes.

It was _my_ turn to reassure him.

My mouth curved into a smile and I threw my arms around him.

"Of course I forgive you, idiot."

His arms tightened around me.

-

_I'm always alone, drifting._

_People surround me._

_Still, you will help me._

_-_

"Oh god, I think my stomach's going to explode," I groaned, clutching the appendage as we walked out of the fancy restaurant decked with red carpets, glass doors and classic lights. "That was the best steak I've ever had,"

"How can you eat so much?" Syaoran asked from beside me, easy tone back. I chose not to dwell on it and narrowed my eyes at him instead.

"Are you saying I'm fat? I ate less than you!"

He snorted.

"Barely. And I'm a man, so it's natural. Now you, that's not," he smirked lightly.

"Sexist," I accused. "You're not a man either. You're sixteen, or seventeen...that hardly qualifies as one. And you didn't answer my question, I'm not fat!" he avoided my hand coming to push him.

"Seventeen," he informed, "And I might not be old enough, but I'm definitely man enough to be a man,"

I eyed him flatly.

"That made no sense. AND, I'm not fat,"

Syaoran placed an arm around me, his hand pressed against the small of my back and guiding me down the sidewalk of the almost deserted road. He leaned down to me, breath ghosting my ear,

"I don't see why you care so much,"

"Because all girls do," I shifted uneasily away from him. But he only leaned back.

"Even you?"

"Even m–what's that supposed to mean?" I said, affronted.

He started laughing, finally pulling away from his fascination with blowing my ear.

"It means," his eyes looking at me with something serious but playful, "You're beautiful. I wouldn't care if you were fat,"

That warmed my heart, I admitted, but the way he quickly turned back to his normal ways still sort of disturbed me.

"So...? I'm not large?"

He laughed again.

"Large? That word reminds me of a pregnant woman asking about her stomach. What happened to the blushing girl? I remember that day at the beach you were stumbling and blushing all over the place,"

I blushed and then tried to cover it with my hair, but he caught me anyway.

"I guess it hasn't totally gone away,"

"Well, you were different before too. What happened to the not-so-cocky, modest, nice, not as forward guy at the beach?"

"Ouch," he frowned. "It's in here somewhere,"

"Yeah, I know it is," I agreed, "I just know you better now," I smiled innocently when he swung a startled look at me, but then shrieked in surprise as he tackled me to the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut but didn't feel any pain, only soft sand. My eyes flew open and I looked up to Syaoran's grinning hazel eyes above me.

"We're at the beach?" I questioned softly. He nodded.

"Not the same beach though. This is the small one where no one goes to that much,"

"Oh, I know. I like coming here," I shifted, but he pinned me down. "What are you doing? I want to see how it looks,"

"You can see this anytime, but right now you're with me," his eyes shimmered for a moment. For a second I thought he was going to kiss me.

"Syaoran, there's never not a time to see something like this," I pushed against his chest, which elicited emotions I didn't want to discuss, but before I could blush on it he finally relented, picking himself up.

"But we've both seen this lots of times before,"

"But it's never the same each time," I told him, and then removed my heels, thinking that Tomoyo would be furious. I walked until the waves lapped at my feet, and sighed, taking in the fresh air and the endless dark abyss of water that stretched out. There was only half a moon, but the stars were visible for once. Syaoran moved to stand beside me, and he gazed out at the water just as I did. Then, quietly, he murmured,

"You're right. I'm with you now,"

And that made me feel better than anything he said before.

I turned to smile at him and he captured my lips.

Our second kiss was very different from our first...it was sweet and tender and slow, a gradual burning fire slowly bringing me to sweet fulfillment.

After a few minutes, or ten, I didn't know, he reluctantly pulled away, his breathing uneven. I blinked my glazed eyes open.

I brushed a hand over his forehead and his messy chocolate hair. One of his hands caught mine and he answered my unspoken question.

"My eyes turn colors sometimes,"

"They...were like that–"

"Before, I know," his eyes were darkening again as he stared at my swollen lips, and his grip on my neck tightened, bringing me closer.

"What really happened before?" the question tumbled from my lips before I could stop it. Syaoran halted and pulled back slightly, disappointment evident. "I mean, I don't think you were telling me everything,"

"Please don't ask me that yet...I can't give you an answer right now. I just want to enjoy this,"

We studied each other for a while.

"Alright," I gave in. "You'll tell me sometime though, right?"

A faint smile was on his lips, and for a second I thought it was sad, but I looked again and realized that I must've been going blind.

"Of course."

He untangled our fingers and then plopped down on the sand.

"Well since you ruined my kiss I think you owe me," he muttered. "So, I'm going to ask you stuff."

"My favorite animals are cats," I offered, joining him, sitting down and wriggling my bare toes. "You?"

"Wolves," he said automatically. "My Chinese name means 'little wolf,'"

"You're Chinese?" I looked at him in surprise. "You speak Japanese so well," He shrugged, but I was already excited. "So what's your Chinese name?"

He eyed me ruefully for a moment.

"Xiao Lang," he finally answered.

"That's so cool!" I grinned and imitated him. He stared at me in surprise when it didn't come out a garbled word. "I know Mandarin...my dad used to have to go there for business trips sometimes and I'd make him teach me,"

"You only have a little accent," Syaoran said, impressed. I smiled.

"I surprised you?"

He shook his head with almost-blush.

"Don't be so shocked,"

"Were you born in China then?"

"Hong Kong,"

"I was born in Kyoto. We moved here when I was four,"

"How interesting."

I glared at him.

"Are you mocking me?"

"No!" he held up his hands jokingly. "So, what's your favorite flavor?"

"Strawberry. Definitely strawberry. You?"

"Chocolate. Favorite subject?"

"Music and Phys Ed. I hate math," I shuddered. Syaoran chuckled.

"My favorite subject's math," I wrinkled my nose at him.

"How can you possibly like it?"

"I don't know...I just do,"

For a few minutes we traded questions, and in the end I found out that his blood type was O (although how that was useful I didn't know), he had_ four_ older sisters (and I thought Touya was bad), liked swimming, couldn't skate or ski for beans, knew martial arts, and when he was small liked playing dress-up. That last one I never intended to let go.

"So how's your friend?" Syaoran asked.

"What? Who?" I said, confused.

"The one with the brown hair. We practically ditched him for the rest of Mei Lin's party," he snickered. "Was he mad?"

I shifted uneasily.

"You mean Luke. No...not really," now that I thought about it he had been unusually blank. I grimaced.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you think I'm neglecting Luke?" I asked, disturbed, as the thought occurred to me. Syaoran's eyes snapped to my face.

"I don't think so," he replied in a flat voice. My eyebrows rose at his tone.

"But I haven't seen him in three years and I left him like you said, but we can see each other anytime,"

Something flashed through his eyes at that, but then it disappeared and he shrugged,

"I don't know,"

Finally, I gave him a slightly annoyed glance,

"Why don't you like him? He's not my boyfriend, because I think that spot's already taken," I said sarcastically. Too late, I shut my horrified mouth and stared with wide eyes at Syaoran. But his own had brightened and they gleamed wickedly at the sight of me. Yet he said nothing.

"I mean, I mean," I panicked, "Well, you know, we don't have to be, you probably like me but, you know, that doesn't mean–"

Syaoran touched my arm, silencing me.

"Sakura," he began with a quiet and serious look, "Do you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked, sparing me the task of doing so. His hazel eyes peered into mine and that feeling flamed inside me again.

I nodded.

Oh, yes. I could definitely get used to this.

His mouth was hovering above mine now, and I tilted my head up, eyes falling closed of their own accord.

"_Xiao Lang?"_ a haughty voice interrupted, and I leaped away from Syaoran in shock and embarrassment. Syaoran made an annoyed sound and lowered his face to mine again, but I shook my head and shoved him away. He gave me a wounded look but I said, loud enough so that only he could hear,

"Um, maybe we should do this later. I, uh, well, really want to continue but..." I trailed off, but Syaoran nodded in understanding. "What's she doing here late at night, in the deserted beach anyway?"

He sighed.

"Somehow, nothing that girl does surprises me anymore. And...you better give me a good kiss," he gave me a sly smile before turning slightly, the voice having come from behind him.

"What do you want Mei Lin?" Flatly.

Shaking myself of the rather embarrassing fantasies that last comment had stirred up, I shifted a bit and looked over his shoulder. A beautiful girl was standing illuminated the moonlight, glaring at Syaoran fiercely and arm hooked though an arm belonging to a tall, black-haired, blue-eyed guy. She had the oddest eyes I'd ever seen–they were a dark mahogany color, and looked more red than brown. Her long oriental hair was tied into two buns, and, unbidden, an image of a plate of meatballs came to my mind, but biting my lip I forced myself to abandon the thought.

She met my eyes and I held her gaze steadily. She blinked.

"So you're the girl?" she questioned, "Well I hope you're not a complete air head or I'll get you away from Xiao Lang, you can count on that," she said dryly and directly. I looked at her in surprise, but to be very honest she didn't intimidate me. The guy beside her snorted and she elbowed him.

"You're Syaoran's cousin?"

"Yes, much to my misfortune." she rolled her eyes, which elicited an indignant 'hey' from said person. "You came to my party?"

"Yeah. Eriol knows you I think, but we've never met," Mei Lin raised her eyebrows, startled, but then a smirk graced her face.

"Small world. He's mentioned you. We have to get together sometime..."

"Mei Lin, what are you doing here?" Syaoran cut in with an annoyed scowl. "And who's he?" he nodded at the blue-eyed man.

"Akira Yamato," the man spoke. "Mei Lin told me about you," Mei Lin beamed at him and patted his arm fondly,

"Yes, we met at the party, and now we're out on a date,"

"Weird." Syaoran mumbled under his breath and got up, offering an arm to me. He pulled me up and then turned back to Akira. "If you hurt her, try sleeping with her or in any way do something to her I don't like I will come after you," he said without blinking. I stifled a giggle.

"Hey, watch it!" Mei Lin scowled, but Akira only laughed.

"Calm down, you have nothing to worry about. And if I did do something I don't doubt you'll know," he ended dryly.

"Syaoran...are you sure about this?" Mei Lin abruptly asked, almost cutting Akira off. She gazed at Syaoran with an odd expression.

Syaoran remained silent. From behind him I couldn't see his facial expression, but when he spoke, it was firm.

"I'm very sure."

Surprise registered on her face. I definitely knew then I still had a long ways to go to win her over. The things I went through for this guy.

"Alright then, that's your choice. Everyone seems to like her so much, Eriol included, but I think I can make my own opinion, yeah?" she shrugged.

"Let's go," Syaoran said to me, and shot another annoyed glance at her as I followed him.

"Bye cousin!" Mei Lin's voice chirped after us and Syaoran glared at the ground.

"She's so annoying. Pretty much ruined the mood didn't she?" he grumbled to me once we were off the beach and out of earshot.

"Yeah," I shrugged. It wasn't such a big deal.

"Our date was going perfectly fine, even with you hiding in an alley before, and she went and ruined it with 'Akira'. I bet he's a no good piece of trash anyway," he muttered. He continued mumbling to himself, and suddenly his grumpy face was just too much.

I laughed.

"Sakura!" he exclaimed as he saw me, but after a moment he sighed. "I guess I was acting sort of dumb,"

"Hehe, yeah," I couldn't help it.

"Did you like it?" Syaoran asked quietly.

"Yeah, I did, I don't even care about the earlier...uh, alley event. Weirdest date ever," I snorted, but then smirked. "In a good way though, don't worry."

Syaoran brought an arm around my waist and smiled down at me.

"Me too," then he grumbled, eyes half-lidded, "Pfft. Don't worry, you have no hope of getting fat anytime soon,"

-

_Baby seems like everywhere I go  
I see you, from your eyes, your smile  
It's like I breathe you, helplessly I reminisce  
Don't want to compare nobody to you._

-Deja Vu, Beyonce

-

A/N: Much to my agony at writing this, it's finally out. Ack, I was so stuck on this chapter. When I finally got off of my lazy bum to write it, it was like slow torture. I wrote a quarter of it out of guilt and then suddenly I got this wave of inspiration and I just typed it all out yesterday and the day before! Whew! But, I'm not made to write romance novels. I admit that now. I always think I am, because so far I have attempted to do all of my stories in that genre, but my mind just blanks. Hope it didn't show.

So, I hope this was sort of as good as the first chapter? Yes, no? Maybe so? Ok, ok, don't throw tomatoes at me for my idiot cheesiness!

Moonlight The Legendary Star: Good point...but I like his eyes better now, doncha think? -grin- Changing colors, I think I'll just faint. Too bad eyes don't really exist like that (at least I don't think...) And your idea, I might use a little of it, not all of it, but it depends. If I do though, it will be a while away, since I've concocted something of my own. So thanks! Keep R&R!

XoXoMoon TribalXoXo: Thanks for finally reviewing! XD Loved it and hoped you liked this chapter!

Ch3rryblossom-baby: I used the classic dinner, with a few twists...just a dinner and then the beach. Thanks though! And your imagination eating me...that's a quirky thought, but don't worry I say that all the time, 'if you don't update, I'll pound you!' lol! Hope you liked this chapter! I'm so nervous it's not as brilliant as the first one, but I tried!

LupineLightning-IllusionDragon: Whew, what a long name! You changed it...thanks for reviewing, and hope your vacation went great! Hoped you liked this chapter.

Thanks to everyone else! I'm just too tired and...lazy, I'll admit it, once again to answer all of you!

I was contemplating making this chapter two chapters, since I really don't want this story to be only like twelve chapters if I can't stretch it out anymore and so far I've made two killer long chapters, but I decided not to.

Don't expect long chapters after this.

Also, **I'll be posting the first chapter on its own, for people who like it as a one-shot. The rest of you can enjoy this continuing story. **But I was, yet again, too lazy to edit the first chapter. So, as of yet, it's still as unedited as ever, and I cringe to think what might be in it.


	4. Picturesque Deception

_August 16, 2006_

Chapter Three

**Picturesque Deception**

_When you're in black slacks with accentuating, off-white pinstripes  
Whoa, everything goes according to plan.  
I'm the new cancer, never looked better, you can't stand it.  
_-Panic at the Disco

-

I stretched lazily, a contented noise escaping my mouth as soothing night air curled around me. I settled down more firmly against the hard tiles of my roof, contemplating and staring at the twinkling stars. I felt like I could do anything at this moment. My eyes closing, I moved my pj clad arms behind my head.

Three days. Three days since our first date.

I saw him again just yesterday and just thinking about it made me blush.

Willingly I let the memory wash over me like an exotic drink, tangy and wild and sweet.

-

**_Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly present, a picturesque score of passing fantasy_.**

-Introduction, Panic at the Disco

-

"_Why do we have to go to this opening again?" I grumbled, pulling on the hem of my navy dress._

"_Because we're celebrating the new museum and I have to give the speech to introduce it," Fujitaka eyed me with a disgruntled gaze._

"_Take mom!" _

_He balked._

"_There is no way I'm taking your mother! The last time I did we had to leave halfway."_

"_Oh, yeah," I snickered, "She reallydoesn't like those things does she,"_

_He made a faint strangled noise at the back of his throat, hopping on one foot. I handed him his other shoe._

"_But that doesn't take away the fact I don't like these things anymore than she does!" I tried again. He ignored me and grabbed the keys off the table by the door (which still held Syaoran's rose), pulling me by my arm out of the house and slamming the door behind us._

_Sealing my fate along the way._

_Sulky and resigned, I stared out the window as my dad drove the car, watching with boredom as trees and buildings raced by. _

_I blinked out of my stupor when I realized they weren't moving anymore._

"_That was quick," I muttered in confusion. Opening the door, I stepped out and went around the car to join my dad._

_Lights illuminated an old Victorian-style house–it was pure white, with a few delicate shadings of blue here and there, and its roof sloped down pleasantly over a wooden porch. A red ribbon crossed the yard just in front of it. I took it all in with saucer eyes._

"_It's nice, isn't it?" Fujitaka chuckled, before walking through the ivory gates. I followed him, speechless, as he greeted several people milling around the yard._

"_Fujitaka, my man!" a loud, boisterous voice exclaimed, a large hand coming to clap him on the back. I walked up from behind to see a man with an unhealthy pot belly and pasted a polite smile on._

"_Hello Yamato," her father greeted. _

_That name sounded awfully familiar. _

_I squinted at the man, noticing he had unusual dark blue, almost velvet-like colored eyes. Where had I seen those eyes before? Suddenly, a flash of a masculine face and dark hair bombarded my memory._

_Syaoran's cousin Mei Lin's date was related to **that** beast of a man!_

_I quickly realized I was gaping and shut my mouth with an audible snap. Thankfully nobody seemed to notice._

"_Come on, Fujitaka, no need for calling me by my last name. We're all friends here, eh? Call me Hiko and I won't have to call you Kinomoto," he chuckled, but then peered at me. "Is this your daughter?"_

"_Yes. Sakura, this is a colleague of mine. Hiko, my daughter Sakura."_

_I nodded at him. The man seemed to gaze at me skeptically for a moment before commenting,_

"_Seems rather delicate doesn't she?"_

_My temper immediately flared._

"_Surfaces can be deceiving," Fujitaka frowned, and then drew me away, muttering in my ear, "Don't say anything Sakura. That's just how he is, he doesn't mean it offensively,"_

"_And I'm sure Hitler didn't mean anything offensively either," I whispered back, trying to twist around to glare at the man, but dad kept a firm grip on me._

"_Don't, Sakura. He works with me and I can't afford to have a bad name,"_

_I finally relented, albeit grudgingly._

"_Fine. I can't get you fired can I?"_

_He laughed._

"_So do you want to meet more people I work with?"_

_I was out of there faster than he could say 'whoops'. _

_Heading to the backyard, to my pleasant surprise there was a swing, the kind that was a furniture piece. I sank into it and grinned to myself at escaping him. The view wasn't so impressive, just a mermaid fountain and a few trees, but it was one thing that made up for it all: peace and quiet._

_I was almost sleeping, the swing having stopped moving a long time ago, when someone sat down beside me with a loud jerk. Eyes flying open I snapped up._

"_What–?"_

"_Hey princess," Syaoran's face smirked back at me. I stared._

"_You–how..." I floundered, confused._

"_That's right, I go everywhere you go," he nodded. Then he noticed what I was wearing. His eyes darkened, moving over me slowly–taking in the way my dress hugged me and the flaring skirt that exposed my legs. "I like your dress, Sakura," he almost purred._

_I swallowed and met his hot gaze. My mind was suspiciously emptied of thought, save for how that dress shirt looked delicious on him, all silky white and then that red tie..._

_What was I doing? There was no time for this!_

_I pulled away from his gaze, realizing with dismay that I was breathing hard. Syaoran continued to watch me._

"_What are you doing here?" I asked._

"_Same as you are. For the opening of the museum," he drawled. "Your dad's digs have contributed to the pieces haven't they?"_

_I frowned._

"_That's not an answer. How did you get here? I know that even you aren't that stalker-y,"_

"_Stalker-y?" he smiled in surprise, "No, I guess not," he scooted closer to me, our legs so close that I could feel the heat from them. I fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to move back only to encounter the other side of the swing. He leaned even closer._

"_What are you doing?" I said uneasily._

"_Nothing." he answered in an innocent tone, "I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?"_

_I eyed him angrily and nervously–he knew exactly what he was doing._

"_Yes you are. Move back." He didn't budge. "Please?" I lamented, almost desperately. He didn't budge. I made to stand when his arm shot up and pulled me down, sending me sprawling half on his lap and the swing swaying furiously._

"_More comfortable," he murmured, almost to himself. My face turned red and I struggled, trying to squirm the half of my body off of him._

"_S-syaoran! Let me go! What are you doing?"_

_His mouth lifted in a half smile at the question, but he didn't answer, his eyes a rich honey color as he looked into my eyes. My mouth parted in shock and his gaze quickly darted to it._

"_Sakura, I think you should stop wiggling like that because it definitely won't help your situation any," he commented mildly, eyes still riveted to my mouth._

_He was acting like he was...horny–what was wrong with him? But I didn't want him to do anything so I stilled, settling for giving him a stern, unwavering stare. To my surprise he didn't attempt to do anything else to me, simply raising his eyes to meet mine. They were still dark with unspeakable things, but there was a softness to them now._

"_...Do you think time would pass me by? Cause I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you tonight," he was singing softly. I would have fallen in shock if I hadn't been sitting on him. I wanted to laugh at him. Say he was a horrible singer. But I couldn't, and despite myself I was melting._

"_Don't you know that's a chic song?" I asked jokingly, shaken. He shrugged._

"_Well, I heard that girls liked it. It was in that movie White Chicks,"_

"_You're getting this from a movie?" my eyebrows shot up incredulously. "Never mind," I sighed._

_Boys were hopeless, but it was still sweet of him._

"_Shh, I'm serenading you,"_

"_It's not nighttime,"_

"_Doesn't matter," he shook his head and wrapped his other arm around me. "It's always times like these when I think of you, and I wonder if you ever think of me," he continued singing quietly, right by my ear. And then he turned me around to face him, tilting my head up with a finger. He smiled slightly at me._

_Disturbed and not knowing what he wanted of me, I told him,_

"_Uhh...yeah, I think of you,"_

_Surprise crossed his face, but then suddenly I was tight in his arms and he was hugging me close, his face buried in my shoulder. Flushing, I could only hold him, the swing still moving ever so slightly._

_Then he kissed the bottom of my neck, softly. I gasped and fisted my hands in his hair. I could feel the curve of his mouth as he smiled and a shiver ran through me at the sensation._

"_You like that?" he whispered._

"_Y-yeah," I stuttered, much to my chagrin. He gathered me closer until I was straddling him in his lap, and lifted his head to look at me once, burning. Then his lips were there, nibbling my collarbone, and something flared inside me. I needed to get closer. Not enough. I pressed tighter against him, warmth seeping through and enveloping me in its fire._

_But he continued to nibble lightly, teasing me, and I squirmed in his lap, small embarrassing noises coming out of my throat._

"_If you want it Sakura...tell me," he said in a low voice, and it sounded like he had swallowed gravel. Impatiently, I pressed his face to my neck and he chuckled hoarsely, but didn't do anything._

"_Tell me," he repeated. "This is my permission,"_

"_Yes," I almost moaned. "Please, Syaoran,"_

_He didn't need reminding. Groaning, his lips came down, hot and open on my neck. He kissed it once, twice. Sighing, I let my head fall back. Then his tongue darted out, his teeth grazing and sucking, and I whimpered, closing my eyes. My fingers tightened and raked down his head, making him hiss and kiss the bottom of my neck harder._

"_You taste so good," he growled._

_I couldn't take it anymore._

_Hauling his head up I pressed my mouth against his, biting his lower lip and flicking my tongue out to trace it. He made a noise and coaxed my mouth open, tongue diving in. Sandalwood, ginger and something else spicy and completely Syaoran flooded my senses. My eyes fluttered shut again and all I could do was feel him, him and his hand tracing my bare arm. His other hand came up and he pushed my leg up to wrap around his waist, trailing fingers up the outside of my thigh. I arched and a moan escaped my mouth._

_Or was it his? I was too far gone to know._

_After an eternity, we separated, panting and with my skirt hiked halfway up my thighs. His shirt was rumpled and hair messed, but as he surveyed me and my dazed eyes, swollen lips and thoroughly ravished look, he couldn't bring himself to care._

"_You look beautiful," he breathed, a hand reaching out to caress my face._

"_I'm not," I shook my head. His hand stopped._

"_Someday, I'm going to make you accept a compliment properly," then his mouth curled into a smile that should have warned me what was going to happen. His face was so close to me now..._

"_Ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed. Syaoran stiffened and stopped, trying to catch his breath._

"_I guess it's time to go," I said with difficulty, and he grinned at me with a slightly possessive look. 'I did this to her' practically swam in his eyes._

"_Another time then, Sakura," his voice caressed my name, lifting me and set me gently on the ground._

_I leaned against the swing as he got up as well._

"_I can't believe I just did that," I moaned, the realization descending on me and making my face burn._

"_Sakura, I asked for your permission," Syaoran reminded quietly._

"_No," I shook my head frantically, "I'm not blaming you,"_

"_Then you don't regret it?" he asked. I laughed a bit._

"_No, I guess not," then to myself, "Just warn me next time when you get a random horny, controlling bout,"_

"_What?" he tilted his head forward._

"_Uh...nothing,"_

"_Okay. Let's go listen to your dad's opening speech then." and gave me a rakish smile._

_-_

**_From that moment you'll be out of place and underdressed.  
I'm wrecking this evening already and loving every minute of it. _**  
_-_There's a Good Reason These Tables are Numbered Honey. You Just Haven't Thought of it Yet, Panic at the Disco

_-_

Now that I thought about it, and my head wasn't muddled with thoughts of Syaoran, he never told me how he was at the museum. Not everyone was allowed to attend the opening, but he did.

Well, it could've been a rich thing.

Nah. Then all of Westfield could've been there and I didn't see any.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He just distracted me with that whole...thing, and I was too _stupid _to notice. Granted, it wasn't a bad distraction but it was a distraction nonetheless! Groaning, I sank deeper into the roof.

The boy didn't tell me anything and changed moods more than a girl.

I glared at the moon as if it were the bane of all my problems. Well that was going to change, and soon. The next time I saw him I was going to ask the question and I would not be distracted this time.

But, as I lay on my roof that night and the soft wind carried the soothing sounds of crickets and rustling trees, another thought occurred to me.

How did Syaoran know my dad was giving the opening speech?

_-_

_Am I more than you bargained for yet  
I've been dying to tell you anything you want to hear  
Cause that's just who I am this week._

-Sugar We're Going Down, Fall Out Boy

-

**A/N:** Author is now cowering under a table in embarrassment. Please do not disturb.

God, I'm so embarrassed. I've never written anything so racy before. But, I had fun looking for interesting quotes and stuff so I guess it balances out...sort of. As you can see, I am fond of Panic at the Disco, they're a great band. Unlike anything I've ever heard before, they're amazing...I especially loved that quote at the beginning, the picturesque thing...see I even named part of my chapter after it!

This chapter took so long because I had to edit chapter one and two and we all know how long _they _are. Yeesh. This would've been out a lot sooner otherwise. And I haven't even edited this chapter yet...I will get around to that next chapter.

_Question: _Is Luke ever going to SHOW UP!

_Answer: _-snicker- Of _course _he is, idiots! Who would want a character that cute and useable to go to waste? Well, er, when this was still a one-shot, yes, but not anymore! So, watch out for him, Syaoran's so cute jealous. ...Oops, might've given out too much info.

_Question: _There was no mention of Touya...how come? Is he even in the story?

_Answer: _Well, since Touya is Sakura's brother I have no choice but to put him in the story. XD But, you see, seeing as Sakura is sixteen in the story and Touya's like ten years older than her, I would think Touya's in some kind of University, or married somewhere with his wife and kids. He wouldn't live at home anyway. But, he's going to show up sometime of course.

_Question: _What _does _Sakura's dad do?

_Answer: _Right now he's an archeologist, like in the story, I think you can tell in this chapter. But as for what he used to do, well, that I don't know, hm?

: Well, interesting name. Anyway, yes, Luke will show up soon enough I didn't put him in there for nothing (although at first I did, but I can't let a character like that go to waste). So, uh, even though you're an anonymous reader, hope you keep reading and reviewing!

Musette Fujiwara: I'm curious about your review...what do you mean, I'll be fair about your story? I can't help but think that's a bad thing. Oh well. I could use constructive criticism once in a while, and I know my story's far from perfect, seeing as how I haven't even edited it yet. Well, thanks for your comments I always love an honest reviewer who gives more than the 'I love your story' and 'please update soon'. Keep reviewing!

Rukz: Thanks so much for the review! Yes, yes, I'm a sucker for people telling me I rock, and your question's answered above (good point, though...I would've expected Touya to come out at the mention of a date for Sakura and scare Syaoran away hehe).

The rest of you, I am too lazy. BUT, thank you so much! I read all of them!

**WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW IDEA I HAVE FOR A STORY?** It's a spinoff of 'Played', but I don't want to rewrite it all over again so I made another, newer player story. It'll be my most mature story yet. Won't be posted up for a long time though. Here it is:

Senseless

His beauty is his blessing–and his curse. He spends his free time messing around with women, but one night he meets a woman he's not sure about...at all. The tables have turned, buddy.

NO copying or I will get your ass booted out of this website faster than you can plead for forgiveness. Please R&R. No flames


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